Teachers and schools are under attack from the far right

NASUWT - The Teachers' Union has called for urgent action to protect teachers and schools from far right narratives that devalue education while promoting racism, homophobia, misogyny, and division.

The call comes following the union's ground-breaking research into the impact of far right social media influencers on pupils' behaviour in the classroom, which found that more than a fifth of all teachers (21.95%) report being subject to discriminatory language from a pupil in the last year, including sexist, racist and homophobic language. Teachers routinely name far right influencers such as Andrew Tate, Donald Trump and Nigel Farage as negative influences on pupil behaviour.

Speaking at TUC Congress in Brighton, NASUWT has supported a motion calling for the government to:

• Reject far-right narratives which attempt to portray educators as a threat to patriotism and commit to defending education as a space for learning, inclusion, and community.
• Defend education and educators from xenophobic and hate-fuelled narratives, support education workers facing intimidation, stand with refugees and migrants, and defend the trade union rights needed to resist attacks on public services.

"The rise of the far right is not an abstract political issue for teachers. Its consequences are already being felt in our schools and colleges, and by the teachers and other workers who challenge racism, hate and division.

"No teacher or other worker should fear for their job because they challenged racism, supported a migrant or refugee, or stood up for people the far right seeks to scapegoat.

"Teachers on the frontline are becoming targets, especially Black teachers. If we expect teachers and other workers to challenge racism and the far right, we all have a responsibility to stand behind them when they do."

Matt Wrack, General Secretary of NASUWT - The Teachers' Union, said:

"Schools and colleges should be safe spaces for teachers to teach, and for pupils to grow and learn. Instead, far right actors are intent on turning classrooms into battlegrounds for ideological control. Disturbingly, they build narratives where teachers are placed in direct opposition to pupils and their parents.

"Only last weekend, Reform announced that if they come to power, they will use Ofsted to police the actions of teachers and headteachers. This is a shockingly brazen attempt to intimidate educators into submission. Reform will be aware that Ofsted is responsible for the death of at least one teacher; they care more that schools sing the national anthem than that teachers and pupils feel supported and safe.

"The far right has no plan to improve our education system - they plan only to use it as a tool to limit the autonomy of teachers, pupils and their families, and to punish those who do not submit to their divisive agenda. The government must fight this attempt to decimate classroom safety at every opportunity. That means opposing and legislating against far right actors nationally and globally, including those who hide in plain sight within AI and social media companies."